July 25, 2023
Ajay Banga
President, World Bank Group
1818 H Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Dear Mr. Banga,
As Members committed to protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people globally, we urge you to
immediately postpone and suspend all current and future lending to Uganda until the recent AntiHomosexuality Act, signed by President Yoweri Museveni on May 29, 2023, is struck down.
While we undoubtedly support efforts to promote long-term economic development and poverty
reduction in Uganda, the recent law mandates state-sponsored discrimination and violence
against LGBTQ+ individuals, creating a humanitarian crisis that plainly violates World Bank
stated policies. We join more than 170 international organizations in urging you to act swiftly so
that the World Bank is a leader among multilateral development banks (MDBs) in condemning
this egregious and unjust law that threatens LGBTQ+ people across Uganda.
The Anti-Homosexuality Law 2023 (AHA) requires all people in Uganda to report to the police
any person reasonably suspected of engaging in the “offense of homosexuality.” It significantly
increases already harsh criminal penalties to life in prison or death and also criminalizes those
who advocate for and provide certain forms of social support to LGBTQ+ people. It disqualifies
LGBTQ+ people from certain types of employment and prohibits landlords from renting housing
to LGBTQ+ people. In response, the World Bank issued a brief statement saying that “the Act is
not consistent with the values of non-discrimination and inclusion that the institution upholds.”
Given these egregious human rights violations against LGBTQ+ people and allies outlined in the
AHA, the World Bank’s initial response is insufficient.
This law starkly contradicts the World Bank’s stated values of inclusion and shared prosperity.
In 2016, the World Bank approved a new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) that
included provisions on inclusion and non-discrimination. However, the AHA goes against the
principles and requirements of this policy by prohibiting LGBTQ+ people from sharing in the
benefits and opportunities of Bank-financed projects. Further, the law even directs those
implementing these projects to report any beneficiary they have reason to believe may be
LGBTQ+ to the police.
Actively promoting the protection of LGBTQ+ communities is beneficial for the economic and
social development of countries and regions, opening further investment opportunities. Studies
conducted at both the international and country-specific levels have shown that greater inclusion
of sexual and gender minorities in the workforce benefits the economy at large. However,
regardless of economic outcomes, the World Bank is a global standard-setter among MDBs and
should promote the highest levels of inclusivity and equity in its projects and policies, including
in countries where LGBTQ+ individuals face repressive legal and social conditions. We urge you
to demonstrate that under your leadership, the Bank will prioritize the protection of LGBTQ+
individuals and will not tolerate draconian laws that degrade their rights.
We stand with Ugandan activists, international humanitarian organizations, and the LGBTQ+
community and insist that the Bank take swift action to postone and suspend all lending to
Uganda until the law is struck down. Continuing to lend money to Uganda and implement
projects in the country would signal to the Ugandan Government, other governments considering
similar laws, and LGBTQ+ people around the world that the World Bank does not truly value
inclusion and that its commitments to non-discrimination are disingenuous. The World Bank can
and must do better. We urge the Bank to stand up for the principles and values it claims to
uphold by swiftly and publicly suspending all forms of financing, current and future, to the
Government of Uganda pending the outcome of legal challenges to the law.
Sincerely,
Joyce Beatty
Member of Congress
Steven Horsford
Member of Congress
Mark Pocan
Member of Congress
Al Green
Member of Congress
Brad Sherman
Member of Congress
Brittany Pettersen
Member of Congress
Wiley Nickel
Member of Congress
Jan Schakowsky
Member of Congress
James P. McGovern
Member of Congress
Dina Titus
Member of Congress
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress